Archive for March 16th, 2010

Just in time for this week's "Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight" release, Lady Gaga's new "Telephone" video, which incidentally was not banned by MTV, dropped a reference to the series' most sought after resource. I don't know what Tiberium actually does to you when you consume it, but apparently it's lethal, as Tyrese Gibson found out when Gaga and Beyoncé got together and served him up something fierce.

Tiberium is just one of a handful of references in the video that James Montgomery and Eric Ditzian put together for MTV News. The video by director Jonas Åkerlund also includes nerd friendly shout-outs to "Dune," "Star Wars" and Salvador Dalí, according their cheat sheet. I don't see any references to her new "Rock Band" Song Pack, though.

In other news, this video reminded me that "Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight" came out today. Did anyone else forget? I also haven't seen what that artwork they premiered a while back turned out to be about. Perhaps this Tiberium Easter egg was intended to be an advertising smart bomb to jog my memory. If so, I say bravo to whoever set that up.

Have you played "Tiberium Twilight" yet? What do you think of Lady Gaga's new "Telephone" video? Sound off in the comment section below.

FROM MTV NEWS: With the release of "God of War 3," players finally get to experience the culmination of Kratos' quest for revenge. What they may not know is that the ending they'll be playing was very different two years ago, when the game had a different director behind it. MTV News spoke with Stig Asmussen, who ultimately took the reins as game director, about where the story might have gone had original helmer Cory Barlog remained on the team.

Check out the rest of the article on the ending "God of War 3" at MTVNews.com.

If "Gears of War 3" sits high on your wishlist this year, you're probably just going to have to settle for watching "The Hurt Locker" or checking out the character guest appearances in "Lost Planet 2," because rumors point toward a release sometime in 2011. Microsoft reportedly wants to avoid competing with itself toward the end of the year — or perhaps at all this year in Epic's case, since they don't have any games slated for 2010.

"Microsoft's keen to avoid a clash with 'Halo: Reach' and wants Natal to own Christmas," an anonymous source told Edge. "That's why we won't be seeing 'Gears Of War 3' until next year, but expect a major marketing push ahead of its release."

Really, would you want to make choices between "Halo: Reach" and "Gears of War 3" if they launched at the same time anyway? Microsoft may be doing you a solid, and this whole scenario means "Gears 3" will have plenty of time to incubate with its developers and get plenty of one-on-one time.

"We don't have any games coming out in 2010," Epic Games VP Mark Rein said at GDC last week, according to G4. That means "Gears" has to be the center of attention now, right? Let's hope they make 2010 count behind the scenes.

Are you OK with "Gears of War 3" launching in 2011? Would you rather see it appear when Project Natal does for the holiday? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Tiger Woods has announced that he'll be returning to professional golf in early April, just in time to compete at The Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. His return brings to an end a five-month long break from golf after it was revealed that he had participated in extra-marital relations.

Woods released a statement about the announcement, saying, "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta."

This is good news not only for golf enthusiasts, but also for EA Sports. The company has two Tiger Woods-branded games in the works: "Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online" (which is planned for a full release in June) and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011," the latest installment of their annual golf video game.

Although Tiger's return was always inevitable, there was some question as to whether he would come back this season, which would make EA's releases a little...out of place.

"God of War 3" is not for children. It's not for some adults, either. It's one of the goriest games I've ever played and would probably make Quentin Tarantino blanch. But, if you think you can handle the graphic violence, fans of the series and fans of video games in general should come out in droves. It's an enormously impressive game that pushes visual standards to new heights.

The Basics

"God of War 3" stars Kratos, the series' go-to protagonist, as he continues his quest for vengeance against the gods of Olympus. The game kicks off where "God of War 2" ended, with Kratos enlisting the help of the titans to take down Zeus and his cronies. Unfortunately, as tends to happen, things do not go as planned and Kratos' climb to the top of Mount Olympus is abruptly ended in the worst way possible. He dies. But that's just the start of his journey.

The Highs

Best. Graphics. Ever.
The previous "Best. Graphics. Ever." holder was another PS3 exclusive, "Uncharted 2." They're extremely different games, as "God of War 3" is much more stylized while "Uncharted 2" is realistic, but "God of War" has the edge thanks to its ridiculous use of scale.

The stuff you'll see in this game…hell, in the first five minutes of this game…will make you want to place the controller down and just marvel at it all. The game kicks off with a battle against Poseidon on the Titan Gaia's back, and the scale is simply remarkable. Kratos is but an ant, a splinter, on Gaia's hand, and yet this is still a playable level that you're traversing. You still have full control of all your moves as Gaia shifts position, opening up new pathways up her earthen body. It's the first of many incredible sights in "God of War 3." And all that without a mandatory install or a significant loading screen! The developers of "God of War 3" set the bar for what can be done on this console.

Gods Damned
The story in "God of War 3" is pretty clear from the get go. You're climbing to the top of Mount Olympus and you're gonna kill anything that gets in your way. That includes a number of gods and familiar mythological tropes. The battles against these famous faces are always memorable and exemplary (except for maybe the last one), and they always end in extraordinarily gruesome fashion, giving a pleasant sense of catharsis after you've been getting your butt handed to you for 15 minutes. The pacing makes each of these battles a treat, never a slog, and they ramp up nicely until the end of your adventure.

Combat Improvements
The combat mechanics of "God of War" have always been stellar, but in "God of War 3," several improvements have been made to the system. Prime among them is an agility meter. Agility is used to fire arrows or stun enemies with a decapitated head. Unlike magic, agility refills automatically after you use it, allowing you to really incorporate your sub-weapons into a battle without having to worry about where the next magic chest is.

Another subtle improvement is the addition of a combat grab, which lets you throw your chains forward to grab enemies at range. This really keeps the combat flowing, letting you boost your combo meter higher than you could in previous games.

The Lows

The More You Know!
Towards the end of the game, "God of War 3" features something of a moral. I appreciate the need to infuse meaning into the chaos, but the moral is so saccharine and cliché that it just felt phoned-in. I'm not going to ruin it for you, but when it happens, you will have a hard time not rolling your eyes. Either that, or I'm dead inside.

The Final Boss
The best part of "God of War 3" occurs about an hour or two before the game actually ends, which makes the final boss fight a pretty big let down. The final battle didn't stand out in any marked way, and ended up feeling extremely redundant with the final boss fight of "God of War 2." There are some intense interactive cutscene moments, but overall it just didn't set itself apart in the way the rest of the game did, and that's a real shame.

Rhythm Mini-game?!?!
This is a really small quibble, but there's a rhythm mini-game puzzle in "God of War 3." It doesn't fit the franchise at all, and it's not remotely fun to complete. Even though it only takes about 10 minutes to get beyond, it was so blatantly out of place that it made me stop and wonder if they had a "Rock Band"-loving intern come in that day demand that beat matching become a part of Kratos' quest for revenge.

The Verdict

Although it may not have ended in a terribly unique or interesting way, the overall package of "God of War 3" is fantastic. If you own a PS3 (and have an iron constitution) you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

"God of War 3" was finally released today. Big, big news for PS3 fans, as it's a fantastic game. Since you're probably at work, waiting for the clock to strike six so you can go home in play, I thought it might be a good idea to compile some of our "God of War 3" coverage from the last few months, so you can at least have something to look forward to.

"God of War 3" Review - Wondering just how Kratos' latest adventure stacks up? I'm happy to fill you in.

"God of War 3" First Level Walkthrough - Detailed hands-on impressions on the first level of "God of War 3."

"God of War 3" Vengeance Trailer - A ridiculous trailer which features some of the insane gameplay footage.

What's Next For the "God of War 3" Dev Team - We speak with the studio director to find out what the team is working on after they are done with Kratos.

How Much Did "God of War 3" Cost? - Sony's price tag for the development of "God of War 3." It's a doozie.